Trust Rules

How LiveRank converts your reputation into vote weight — and why not all votes are equal.

LAST UPDATED APRIL 19, 2026

01The Core Idea

LiveRank believes that ranking quality improves when the opinions of engaged, knowledgeable community members carry more weight than brand-new accounts with no track record. This is not gatekeeping — it is a quality signal.

Every user has a Trust Score — a numerical representation of their platform reputation. When you cast a vote, your trust score is converted into a vote weight multiplier using the formula:

vote_weight = 1 + log₂(trust_score)

The logarithm is intentional. It compresses the range: high-trust users have meaningfully more influence, but not unbounded dominance. A user with a trust score of 1,000 has roughly 11× the weight of a new user — not 1,000× it.

02Reference Values

Here is how the formula plays out at key trust score values:

Trust Score	Vote Weight Multiplier	Relative to new user
1	×1.00	baseline
10	×4.32	4.3× baseline
100	×7.64	7.6× baseline
1000	×10.97	11.0× baseline

VOTE WEIGHT vs TRUST SCORE (logarithmic scale)

03How Trust Score Grows

Your trust score increases naturally as you participate in the platform. The factors that contribute include:

Account age — longevity on the platform is a signal of genuine engagement.
Votes cast — active participation in rankings demonstrates investment in the community.
Rankings created — creating rankings that attract votes and discussion builds reputation.
Items contributed — adding items to the global item library expands the platform's knowledge base.
Followers — other users following you indicates that your opinions are valued.
Comment karma — upvoted comments signal quality contributions to discussion.

We do not publish the exact numeric weight assigned to each factor — these are algorithm internals that are calibrated over time to optimise ranking quality. What you see on your profile is the resulting Trust Score, and the header badge shows your current vote weight.

04What Trust Is Not

Trust Score is an internal algorithmic metric. It is not:

A legal or professional endorsement of your expertise.
A permanent status — it is recalculated periodically.
Purchasable, transferable, or gameable through coordinated behaviour (vote manipulation will result in account suspension).

Read more about ranking integrity in our Terms of Service and the broader philosophy in the LiveRank Manifesto.

01The Core Idea

Every user has a Trust Score — a numerical representation of their platform reputation. When you cast a vote, your trust score is converted into a vote weight multiplier using the formula:

vote_weight = 1 + log₂(trust_score)

Trust Score

Vote Weight Multiplier

Relative to new user

×1.00

baseline

×4.32

4.3× baseline

100

×7.64

7.6× baseline

1000

×10.97

11.0× baseline

03How Trust Score Grows

Your trust score increases naturally as you participate in the platform. The factors that contribute include:

Account age — longevity on the platform is a signal of genuine engagement.

Votes cast — active participation in rankings demonstrates investment in the community.

Rankings created — creating rankings that attract votes and discussion builds reputation.

Items contributed — adding items to the global item library expands the platform's knowledge base.

Followers — other users following you indicates that your opinions are valued.

Comment karma — upvoted comments signal quality contributions to discussion.

04What Trust Is Not

Trust Score is an internal algorithmic metric. It is not:

A legal or professional endorsement of your expertise.

A permanent status — it is recalculated periodically.

Purchasable, transferable, or gameable through coordinated behaviour (vote manipulation will result in account suspension).

Read more about ranking integrity in our Terms of Service and the broader philosophy in the LiveRank Manifesto.